Dwight Howard no longer enthusiastic about a move to China – NBA Update
There has been a lot of talk of Dwight Howard heading to the Far East as the NBA lockout drags on. While most NBA players interested in playing overseas have touted Europe as the likely destination, Howard has consistently been
linked to China. The man in the middle though isn’t overly enthusiastic about the move.
Dwight is a huge name in the Chinese market and a move there would certainly have done wonders for him in terms of commercial success. The player comes behind only Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and LeBron James of the Miami
Heat in terms of number of shirt sales in China, a country of over 1 billion people.
However Dwight has now revealed that a move abroad, especially to China, seems very unlikely at present. At the moment he just wants to concentrate on what he is doing currently.
"They got the rule, so I don't know," Howard said. "I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing."
The rule Howard is referring to is a new piece of legislation the Chinese Basketball Association is trying to push through in order to stem the expected tide of NBA players coming to China. The state controlled basketball league
wants to restrict any foreign players that sign for them from returning midway through the season.
As FIBA recently declared it will only give the green light to NBA players who have escape clauses in their overseas contracts, the new Chinese rule would make it impossible for any genuine NBA stars to come over and play there.
The Chinese Basketball Association is also mulling on putting a restriction upon its teams to sign just one NBA player per team.
With all the discouraging reforms under way in China it is no wonder Howard has been put off from a move. The centre is content where he is and has several promotional tours lined up for the summer. Once he gets done with those,
the Orlando player wants to concentrate on training and improving his game.
Howard trained with basketball great and former Houston Rocket centre Hakeem Olajuwon last summer and his game showed marked improvement during the season. He has already spent time with the legend this year and intends to get
more advice before the NBA season begins.
Also high on Howard’s priority list is the organization of a team training camp. Since the NBA is in lockout and the players cannot have contact with their franchises, let alone train with them, many are gathering by themselves
to train as a team.
Howard also has a plan in mind too and is looking forward to implanting it if the lockout drags on.
Tags: